Hot and Dangerous (Decorah Security) (2 page)

“What about
the attackers?”

“If we’re
lucky, they’re busy inside the hotel.”

Busy. She
didn’t want to think about what they might be doing there.

Instead, she
switched her attention to the layout of the grounds. The gazebo was on the
lawn, closer to the hotel—and the gunmen. But there wasn’t any other cover.

“Okay.” She’d
let him take charge because she had no idea what else to do.

“I’ll go
first. If I make it, you follow me. Keep low.”

She winced at
the way he put it, but she told herself that if anyone was going to make it, he
would.

“Now.”

Her heart
leaped into her throat as she watched him dash across the open space between
her hiding place and the white gazebo surrounded by hibiscus bushes.

When he
reached the little building without any gunfire, she breathed out a sigh of
relief.

Then he
turned and motioned to her, and she took several deep breaths before starting
out. Following his example, she ducked low, running flat out for the back of
the shelter, tumbling into Zack Marshall’s arms. He gathered her close, sliding
his hands up and down her back and shoulder. She had wanted to be this close to
him and never expected it would happen. Now it felt like the most natural thing
in the world to raise her face to his.

Their lips
were so close. She could have kissed him. Wanted to kiss him. Out of gratitude
or because the danger was heightening her emotions? She saw from the look in
his eyes that his thoughts were traveling on the same path.

But instead
of kissing her, he raised his head and looked toward the jungle. “We’re not
safe here. Got to get into the trees.”

Now they had
only twenty yards to safety. She hoped it was safety.

“This time,
it’s better if you go first,” Zack whispered. “I’ll keep guard.”

Her heart
pounding, she took off toward the jungle, saying a prayer of thanks as she
plunged into the darkness under a grove of low palms.

She’d made
it!

She expected
Zack to follow, but when she peeked out from behind a tree, he wasn’t there.

Oh Lord, what
had happened to him? Had he changed his mind about following her? Was he
leaving her here to fend for herself?

When she
heard an explosion of gunfire, she went rigid. As her eyes searched the expanse
of the lawn, she saw one of the gunmen moving slowly toward the jungle, gun in
hand, and she knew he must have seen her wild dash into the underbrush.

She froze.
Should she run—or stay? Then she saw something so out of place that at first
she couldn’t believe her eyes. A gray shape was moving rapidly across the lawn,
following the man with the gun. It was a large dog or maybe a wolf, although
she’d never heard of wolves in San Marcos.

As she
watched, she knew the moment when the gunman realized there was something
behind him. He whirled, the weapon aimed at the animal.

When he
fired, Jenna screamed. But the wolf was already in motion, taking a giant leap
above the gun barrel and coming down on the invader. The man tried to fight him
off, but the animal continued the fierce attack, biting and mauling him.

The man’s
struggles grew weaker. When he finally went still, the wolf stepped away,
looking down at the attacker as though considering his next move. Then, to her
astonishment, it came back and pulled the gun from the man’s hands, dragging
the weapon toward the jungle before turning and racing away.

For long
seconds she stood frozen, wondering if she had really witnessed the violent
scene and the aftermath, but the gunman was still lying on the lawn where the wolf
had left him.

She was still
trying to come to grips with that, when she heard the crackle of foliage behind
her. Her heart pounding, she turned and saw Zack coming toward her.

Wide-eyed,
she stared at him.

“Where were
you?”

“I saw the
gunman and ducked back.”

“Did you see
the . . . wolf?” she asked in a strangled voice.

“Yeah. When I
saw him go after the guy, I stayed where I was until the fight was over.”

She nodded,
wondering if his explanation really dovetailed with the facts. But what else
could it be?

“They have
wolves in San Marcos?”

He shrugged.
“Maybe they’re not native, but they could have been brought here.”

“But why did
he attack?”

“Maybe he’s
trained to go after a man with a gun.”

“Maybe,” she
answered slowly, wondering if her mind was playing tricks on her. Yet it wasn’t
just her. Zack had seen the animal, too.

“We’d better
get out of here,” he muttered. “Before they come looking for the guy—or us.”
Knitting his fingers with hers, he led her farther into the vegetation, the
tall trees and dense underbrush closing in around them. The temperature was
cooler here than down at the beach, yet she felt heat gathering between her and
the man who walked a little ahead of her, moving branches and vines out of her
way.

To take the
focus off the two of them, she asked, “You think they checked the hotel
registry to find out how many people are here?”

“They could
have.”

They kept
going, every step putting distance between themselves and the scene of carnage
back at the resort.

oOo

Beside Zack,
Jenna was breathing hard. He stopped, watching her look looked around at the
unfamiliar setting.

“They carved
the resort out of the jungle,” she murmured.

“Yeah. Lucky
for us.” Zack slung an arm around her shoulder. “It’s all right. We’re going to
be all right.”

“Maybe not,”
she answered. “I could have been killed in the first few minutes, if you hadn’t
come along. And then there was that wolf,” she added in a shaky voice.

What did she
really think about the wolf? Zack wasn’t prepared to go there yet.

Instead, he
turned her toward him and felt a wave of hot sensations he’d never experienced
before, as he pulled her into his arms.

A few hours
ago he might have told himself that the desperate circumstances were jolting up
his emotions—his awareness. Now he knew he would have been lying to himself. It
was the woman he held in his arms who was affecting him so profoundly.

With a low
growl, he pulled her more tightly into his arms, crushing her breasts against
his chest, suddenly overwhelmed by lust. Or maybe need was a more polite word.

What he
called it didn’t matter. Not when he craved this woman in ways that he’d never
even imagined.

She raised
her head and stared at him, and he saw the same intense heat he was
feeling—mixed with confusion. She didn’t know why she was feeling this way, and
he wasn’t going to tell her. Not yet.

She moistened
her lips before starting to say, “I don’t . . .”

“Make love
with a guy you just met?” he finished for her.

“Yes.” But
she stayed where she was, her breath rapid and her eyes large and luminous in
the jungle gloom. The scent of her was intoxicating. She was aroused, ready to
make love with him.

Her response
to him was impossible to ignore. Unable to stop himself, he lowered his mouth
to hers. The contact sent a bolt of sensation crackling between them like heat
lightning.

oOo

Jenna didn’t
understand what was happening between herself and this man. All she knew was
that the physical contact—the arousal—was more than she could have imagined.
And more dangerous. Because she knew on some deep, subconscious level that she
was vulnerable to Zack Marshall in a profoundly elemental way. If this went any
farther, there was no going back. Ever.

“At the
hotel, you stayed away from me because you were afraid this would happen,” she
choked out, not even sure what she meant.

“Yes.” he
answered, his voice strong and deep. “But now I know I have to make love to
you—or go insane.”

That was a
dramatic way to put it, yet she understood the truth of his words. He was as
vulnerable to her as she was to him.

He lowered
his head, his mouth coming down on her for a kiss that sent a jolt of heat
through her. He turned his head one way and then the other, drinking her in,
nibbling at her, breaching the barrier of her lips with his tongue for an
invasion that might have been savage if she hadn’t been a full participant.

When he
finally lifted his head, they were both breathing hard.

He looked
around as though just remembering where they were and why. “We can’t stay out
in the open.”

She’d also
forgotten why they were standing in the jungle. The knowledge zinged back to
her.

“Where can we
go?”

“There’s a
place I found.”

He took her
hand and led her farther from the resort, into the untamed jungle.

The sun was
high overhead, but the trees blocked out much of the light as they came to a
little hut almost hidden from view. The walls were made of bamboo posts, and
the roof was thatched with palm fronds.

Beside her,
Zack dragged in a deep breath through his nose and let it out.

“What are you
doing?”

“Making sure
nobody’s here.”

“How?”

“I’d smell
them.”

It was a
strange conversation, but she didn’t stop to ponder it as he led her forward.
“Some of the locals must use this place from time to time, but nobody’s home
now.”

“You’ve been
here before?”

“I found it
while I was exploring the island.”

“Good thing
you did.”

“I always
make sure I have a handle on my environment.”

He draped an
arm over her shoulder and led her inside. The interior was small and sparse.
Looking around, she saw shelves along one wall with various supplies and a bed
of blankets on the floor. No doubt where they were headed. And no doubt that
her behavior was totally out of kilter—from the sudden danger of the gunmen’s
attack. And from her reaction to this man.

She stopped
trying to fathom her motives when arousal made her legs unsteady. Zack solved_
the problem by scooping her up and bringing her down to the bed, turning so
that she was sprawled on top of him.

As he stroked
his hands up and down her back and over her butt, she closed her eyes,
absorbing sensations, loving the feeling of him under her and the way the
length of her body fit against his—starting with her breasts flattened against
his chest and moving downward to her hips cradling his cock. It was full and
hard, ready for lovemaking, and she couldn’t stop herself from moving against
him, thinking she was in danger of coming just from this contact.

As he stroked
one hand down her body, pressing her hips more tightly to his, he tangled his
other hand in her hair, bringing her mouth back to his for another scorching
kiss.

She had been
obsessed with him since the moment she’d seen him at the resort. It felt as if
that had been months ago—and she had been waiting to make love with him all
this time.

“I want you
naked,” he muttered, echoing her own thoughts.

Both of them
sat up and began tearing at clothing. She shrugged out of her gauzy shirt and
pulled off her bikini bottom. As he reached around her to unfasten her bikini
top, she leaned into him so that he could untie the knot at the back and toss
the garment away.

When he was
done, she found the metal button at the top of his jeans, then lowered the
zipper. Boldly, she reached inside his undershorts, wrapping her hand around
his erection, feeling the strength and the power of him.

He dragged in
a sharp breath. “Lord, that’s good. Too good. I don’t want this to go too fast
for you.”

She was
thinking that nothing would be too fast for her. Not with him. But he eased her
to her back and kicked away his jeans before lying down beside her as he
studied her.

“You are so
beautiful. I’m so lucky to have found you,” he breathed as he trailed a hand
between her breasts, down to her navel, then lower to play with the blond hair
at the juncture of her legs.

His words
thrilled her.

“Did you ever
think of shaving down here?” he asked as he lightly twisted his fingers in the
springy curls.

“No.”

“Good,
because the natural look is a lot sexier.”

“Some men
wouldn’t think so.”

“I want you
just the way you are.”

What she
wanted was for him to slide his hand into her sex, but she wasn’t going to beg.

Instead, she
lifted her own hand, running her fingers through the thick hair that covered
his chest, then finding his flat nipples and circling them with her fingers
before plucking on them.

Again he drew
in a breath, then cupped her breasts in his hands, running his thumbs over the
tips, driving her mad with wanting more.